


New Perspective

by xikra1648



Series: Life's Playlist [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, F/M, More Relationships to be added, More characters to be added, Romance, Say Something Continuation, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, more warnings to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-21 12:51:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11944611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xikra1648/pseuds/xikra1648
Summary: Say Something SequelWith Esmeralda Faria's memory gone, the Avengers pulled back together as one force but still had their disagreements.  Some wanted to find a cure to Esmeralda's memory loss while others wanted to allow her a peaceful life.  Catrina was one of those looking to heal her friend, partially in the hopes her friend's soul mark would return but the logical woman would never admit that.  Not when she made it a point to hide her own mark.





	1. I Wanna Live Life From A New Perspective

**Author's Note:**

> I'M BAAAAACK!!!!!
> 
> I'm so sorry it took so long to continue, and for those of you who found your way here without checking the update I put at the end of Say Something I just wanna give you a few heads-ups.
> 
> One: Essie isn't the main character. She's definitely one of them, and her story does progress, but because of where she needs to be and where she's going in Infinity War I needed to put together New Perspective with our new star: Catrina Hazel Price.
> 
> Also: I do not own the song 'New Perspective,' that is the property of Panic! At The Disco and Fueled By Ramen.
> 
> Two: Catrina Hazel Price was originally Katrina Hazel Pierce but revamped with a different background, new appearance, and older which leads to a colder and less cute and shy approach to life and people. She, as she stars in this particular fic, is a key part in where Essie ends up and where she goes, and visa versa.

# New Perspective

### I Wanna Live Life From A New Perspective

It was a rare sentimentality that brought Catrina Hazel Price back into the life of Esmeralda Faria.  Cat had been spending years cleaning up the mess of her father, a madman who defied everything that had been passed through the family line, everything they had stood for since the day the scholars of the Ancient Celts peeled back the lining between their Earth and the Metaverse.  The family name had changed many times, for reasons ranging from witch hunts to marriage, but the family teachings remained the same.  They had been aware of Hydra in all its forms, dating back from the Inhuman it was formed around, and had been fighting them just as long both with and without the help of the Inhumans.

To make matters worse, she seemed to be the only member of the family that hadn’t been indoctrinated into joining the enemy and there was no clear reason why.  It’s not like she wouldn’t have been an asset, she was one of the few S.H.I.E.L.D research scientists that was cleared for field work.  She was no Agent Faria, but she knew enough that actual field agents didn’t have to hover over her in a fight-though that was almost entirely because of her magical abilities.  She looked at the issue from all angles and took no chances.  Even without her magic she was brilliant, just getting into the S.H.I.E.L.D Sci-Tech academy requires an I.Q. outmatching Einstein or _multiple_ PhD’s before you’re 25.

If her father had started early, like he had with Catrina’s sister Miriam, it would have been a simple task to do the same to Catrina, especially considering she was younger.  Yet, he didn’t, and now Dr. Katrina Hazel Price was working in the research department at a _hospital_ and she _hated_ it. 

And not because she had to wear business attire instead of her usual band t-shirts and jeans and had to fuss with her waist-length pale blonde hair instead of just throwing it up in a sloppy ponytail.

After the two-year probationary period, which took place during a future agent’s studies at the Sci-Tech academy, S.H.I.E.L.D never asked why or what benefit your research would have.  They just threw money, equipment, assistants, and any field agents that were needed at their scientists and otherwise let them be. 

Don’t misunderstand, she understood why the hospital wanted to keep the research narrowed down to medications and things related for healthcare.  No, her big problem was having to estimate the funds she needed and what benefit her would have.  She wasn’t a damn accountant, there was no way for her to know just how much money she needed!  How in the hell was she supposed to know the benefit _before_ she did the research?  She could _theorize_ but until she actually _did_ the research there was no way to know!

It didn’t help that she wasn’t a _people_ person, most geniuses aren’t big on people or just aren’t great with societal norms.  There’s a reason Tony Stark makes wild miscalculations in his personal relationships, and otherwise _avoids_ them by never taking much of anything seriously.  There’s a _reason_ Bruce Banner preferred solitude, and the Hulk just gave him an _excuse_ to seek it out.  Hank Pym punched one of the original founders of S.H.I.E.L.D and pulled out of the organization all together when he found out they kept a copy of his research.  Scott Lang got himself into a _world_ of trouble before he even became the Ant-Man.  Fitz was awkward at _best_ when Cat had first met him, and while he had mostly grown out of it he was still odd.

The fact of the matter is, the smart people that _normal_ people want to do all the research simply cannot connect well enough to be _granted_ the things they need to do the research.  Now Catrina, a genius with _five_ PhD’s and enough knowledge and experience in magic and science to put the pieces of practically everything else together, had to dance and sing in a scientific pageant to be allowed to do _any_ research.  Still, she _had_ to do the song and dance because, while the Avengers certainly had the money and technology she needed they didn’t have the _experts_ she would need to consult.

To top things off the reason behind Catrina’s research project was none other than agent turned amnesiac Esmeralda Faria and she, memories or not, would become _immediately_ suspicious if an Avengers Research Scientist suddenly decided to take over as her primary physician, instead of a former S.H.I.E.L.D scientist doing a favor for the Avengers.  Add in a story about how Catrina had experience dealing with long-term hibernation and sudden resuscitation, a story that wasn’t entirely untrue considering her work to successfully revive both Captain Rogers and Agent Coulson, and dash in a touch of ‘it’ll provide great beginning data to get a project approved,’ and the amnesiac agent bought it.

Essie’s case was particularly personal for Cat, the agent had been one of the few the blonde-haired doctor actually _enjoyed_ working with.  While their duties normally pulled the two apart, and Cat was absolutely _unrelenting_ in the fact that she had _bigger problems_ than dealing with an alien invasion with the Avengers, something Fury didn’t even want to ask about, the two were friends.  They were not as close as Essie was with Captain Rogers and _especially_ not Agent Romanov, but they were friends.  In order to help her friend Cat needed to be able to sell a research project which would research the effects of powers, specifically those based on what could only be described as ‘magical’ powers, had on the human psyche.

It was a good project, and considering the fact that New York was _still_ recovering from the Chitauri attack, Catrina thought it would be an easy sell.  They had people _in that very hospital_ still recovering from both physical and psychological wounds.  Considering the Earth’s awareness of aliens and their still growing awareness of those with powers and their effect on the world, Catrina thought it would be an easy sell.  That was before one of the other researchers proposed something wildly useless, something about _frogs_.

To be fair, Catrina wasn’t entirely sure.  The man had told her something about it but she stopped listening as her focus turned to the blinding migraine she got every time she was listening to somebody so wildly stupid they made _her_ I.Q. fall.  Still, the man was sickeningly charismatic and was likely to get the project approved while she would be left to flounder around and kick and scream until they gave her some cash to placate her.  She had been functioning that way since she first got the job, but she couldn’t afford that now.  So, she did something that she wanted to avoid at all costs: she asked for help.

Not just any help, keep in mind, but the help of Dr. Stephen Strange, the charming neurosurgeon that managed to charm his way into Christine’s pants, or scrubs as the case was.  Still, while he was just as sickeningly charming as the Frog Fool, at least Strange had two neurons to rub together and make a thought.  Even then, Catrina still wasn’t sure her project would be approved and found herself holding her breath as she waited while the Board of Directors discussed their options.

The 30-year-old woman had been distant and instantly labeled the hospital bitch upon her arrival two years earlier, though there were a few to whom she was still sarcastic, but only humorously so.  Her long blonde hair was tied up into a bun, her gray eyes were a bit too large and made her look far younger than she really was, and the smoky makeup she had perfected only brought people’s attention right to her stunningly _pale_ gray eyes.  Though, the firm line her otherwise soft pink lips formed almost all the time tended to keep people at a distance.  She was cold, disconnected, and intended to keep it that way.

Then Stephen saw her waiting for the Board’s decision.  It was no skin off of his back, while he was interested and saw the benefit of the research project it wasn’t _exactly_ in his field and wouldn’t be at all effected if the answer was ‘no.’  Clearly that wasn’t the case for Catrina, her long hair left down and draped over her right shoulder, her thin arms crossed just under her bust and holding her white lab coat closed over her long-sleeved violet turtleneck which was tucked neatly into her black high-waisted pencil skirt.  Her legs, clad in black tights, were crossed at the ankles as she stood, leaning back against the white hospital wall, in the black heels she wore that day. 

Normally she would settle for slacks, a blouse, and flats or boots.  Clearly, she had dressed for the occasion.  This meant something to her, which didn’t make much sense.  Considering the rarity of these specific forms of attacks and the fact that the Avengers were the main target for them, there really wasn’t much of a personal benefit to the research.  Stephen had asked why she was so desperate she would ask _him_ for help, trying to figure out why this seemed so personal for the small but terrifying woman.  She didn’t give him _much_ of an answer, but it was better than nothing.  Surprisingly altruistic, but it made sense considering Dr. Price was nothing if not a scholar.

“My research has never been about results, it’s about looking at the world and thinking about things from a new perspective, and we can only do that by _learning_.”


	2. Let Go For Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Catrina Price was cold, sarcastic but always professional even in her ire with the Board and her coworkers. So seeing her let go and laugh, even at some very bad Muppet-based jokes, made Stephen enjoy the levity of the moment all the more. It was...refreshing the way she completely let go as she laughed, not caring who saw or heard her.
> 
> Then she just stopped...and left...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own 'Let Go For Tonight' by Foxes, I was just listening to it on repeat because I knew where I wanted this chapter to go and knew that song would help push it there.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

# New Perspective

### Let Go For Tonight

In order to fully understand the possible effects that the supernatural might have on a person’s mind, Catrina needed to study magical theory.  That didn’t help much with the scientific aspects, at least what she had managed to discover in what she could only describe as a poor excuse for a lab in the hospital. 

Ever since she went to Sci-Tech Academy she had been dealing, and helping create, state of the art technology including fully interactive 3D holographic projectors, neural sensors that could be used to communicate with or control compatible technology with a thought, and the regrowth of not only organs but bones and limbs.  Cat had developed hyper-advanced cybernetic limbs, so much so she was _embarrassed_ for the idiots that developed Bucky’s arm.  The _second_ she was asked to assist with Essie, she sent Stark what he’d need to re-make the scarred American Hero’s arm.  It was going to be a long and rough road for him, the least he could have was an arm that worked and didn’t cause him pain.  She had been working in the field, researching a way to safely meld magic and science, when S.H.I.E.L.D fell and she was so close to finding a breakthrough.

Now she had to _wait_ for a radiologist to look over the MRI and CAT scans Catrina had taken of her research volunteers.  She could read the scans just fine on her own, but because she wasn’t an _actual_ radiologist it _wasn’t acceptable._   She had been reading medical scans since _before_ she got her first PhD, actually two as she finished them at the same time, when she was barely 19.  Looking back she realized that was only a few months before her first term at Sci-Tech as she still had some magical studies to undergo with her father, and of course the now traditional studies at Kamar-Taj. 

The point of her continuing ire was, Cat knew her way around a damn scan.  She didn’t need to wait a damn day for someone to send an email to her as an afterthought as he left his office for the day.

An email that told Cat less than she would have been able to see, the bumbling oaf.

What killed her was, while there was _minor_ evidence of physical changes, what Cat really needed was a Neuron-Sensor.  It had taken a few years to work on, but she’d completed the design as her ‘final project’ at Sci-Tech.  It was a highly advanced scan, and she needed to use one of the S.H.I.E.L.D scanners that field medics and researchers _always_ carried to make it at all, but it worked and it was the _best_ way to track, interpret, and monitor the information sent to, from, and within the brain.  _That_ was the information Cat really needed, _that_ was what the energy-based powers actually effected.

Stephen caught onto that quickly too, once most of the brain scans came back negative.  They both expected that, to be honest, but they had to cover all of the bases as well.  They were running out of ideas as Catrina pulled up the blueprints of the Neuron-Sensor she built in the early years of her career.  Stephen wasn’t about to claim to understand the engineering behind it but the biology, chemistry, and physics was sound.  The only problem was getting it approved.

“Safe bets are the answer is a flat _hell no_ ,” he pointed out as he stood up from leaning over the center counter of the lab where Catrina’s personal laptop was sitting.  It didn’t look like any commercial brand, or a brand at all.  Bets were, it was home-made, along with the programming on it, but based on the list of contacts she still had from her S.H.I.E.L.D days that wouldn’t be surprising.

“Bets were, they were gonna say no to me when I suggested this project.  Why do you think I asked you to help?” Cat retorted, her palms down on the top of the white lab table as she leaned forward.  The too-long sleeves of her sheer black pull-over were pushed up to her elbows, and in the nearly toxically bright light of the lab it was possible to see her black bra, and the black tattoo down her spine, in certain lights or positions.  For a second Stephen thought he saw her mark, but what he thought he saw was far too ridiculous so he brushed it off and went back to work. 

Catrina’s long sweater trailed down to the zipper of her black form-fitting slacks and her black flats made no noise against the tile floor as she walked.  Her hair was still pulled up and her makeup still applied, but otherwise no real attempt at looking professional was made.

To her defense, the two of them had been working until roughly four that morning and returned only four hours later, Stephen because he had a surgery scheduled at 9 and Catrina because one of their volunteers was meeting with her that morning.  The woman who unwittingly started this entire thing, apparently.  Catrina promised to explain why Miss Faria couldn’t know what they were doing, exactly, but that was clearly a lie.  His guess that this was personal was becoming more and more likely as time passed.

“You know if that came from anyone else I’d take that as a compliment.”  Stephen crossed his arms loosely, understandably defensive around the woman he was working with.  It was a natural reaction considering she was defensive with _everyone_ , cold and ready to argue at a moment’s notice.  She hadn’t exactly been _welcomed_ at the hospital, most researchers saw her as unwelcome competition and even other doctors didn’t like her becoming a form of consultation around the hospital.  Though, for him, it was a bit different.  Until Dr. Catrina Price came along it was clear that Dr. Stephen Strange was the smartest one there.  He didn’t appreciate the competition she presented.

“True, though that’s mostly because the reason I don’t get my projects approved is because of the weasel down the hall that charms the Board into letting him poke around with frogs and crickets,” Catrina shrugged it off as she took her laptop and began scrolling through things, clicking here and there.

“He’s a pharmacologist-“

“Then what the hell’s he doin’ poking around with Kermit?” Catrina pointed out, her Welsh accent becoming a bit more prominent in her frustration while she kept calm and continued searching through papers she and her former co-workers had written, “Testin’ on Amphibians won’t help figure out the effects a drug’ll have on humans nearly as much as testin’ on land mammals.”

Catrina noticed the eerie silence in the lab, it was so silent her ears were ringing, and that struck her.  It made her uncomfortable.  Either they were talking or some form of music was playing in the background, mostly classics from before the 90’s but some classic artists had continuing releasing new songs and albums over the years.  The silence was odd…but the expression on Stephen’s face as the information clicked into place and the suddenly unsuspicious pharmacologist became the _most_ suspicious person _on the planet_.

“…You think he’s got Miss Piggy too?”

Catrina laughed, honest to goodness laughed, with her eyes closed and her mouth open in a wide smile as her body shook then, with her voice a pitch higher than her normal middling pitch, she kept her laughter at bay only long enough to say, “Maybe he’s trying to figure out how they shagged.”

It wasn’t particularly funny in and of itself, but it was so _odd_ and Catrina’s laugh was so _contagious_ that Stephen couldn’t help but laugh along.  It was a new side of Catrina from what everyone in the hospital had seen, a side Stephen genuinely liked, even if only because she appreciated his jokes and built on them.  In fact, the man was about to add to the laughter, purely for the enjoyment of seeing the otherwise cold and professional woman just _let go_ , when Dr. Price suddenly grew distant as her pale gray eyes lost her focus. 

Dr. Catrina Price never lost her focus, never lost her cool, even as things came flying at her when she was called for a (probably illegal) consult in the ER and had one thing after another thrown at her.  Even when she was dealing with the Board’s, now understandably, frustrating decision to fund Dr. Frogger, Stephen would be sure to remember _that_ one, Catrina’s anger and outbursts were focused and controlled.

What could make her lose focus so suddenly?  Stephen didn’t even consider it was him, seeing as his attempt to charm her was met with a quick and _brutal_ denial.

She practically slammed her laptop shut and only thought long enough to grab her keys, based on the metallic jangling sound, from her purse and leaving with a rushed-

“Just thought of something, I’ll be back, maybe.”


End file.
